What is Manju? Well, manju is a traditional Japanese steamed cake sweet. It is a confection made with a sweet filling thinly wrapped in a steamed/baked soft wheat dough. There are many variations of Manju; classic ones are typically made with anko (red bean paste) or chestnut filling and soba (buckwheat) or wheat wrapping.
Onto the product: The best place to get Manju would probably be straight from Japan, but these are a wonderful alternative – authentic (or as close as you can get in the US) Manju made in Japan.
Everything’s in Japanese – makes sense.
Now, to be honest, I can’t read Japanese, but I did a little bit of research and here’s what I found. There are 18 pieces total and 5 flavor varieties.
- Momoyama (2pc) – Steamed manju w/ red bean & white bean paste filling
- Nyuka (4pc) – Baked manju w/ sweet white bean filling wrapped in milk flavored cake
- Matcha manju (5pc) – Steamed manju with matcha (green tea) bean paste filling
- Soba manju (5pc) – Steamed maju with white bean paste filling
- Kuriman (2pc)– Baked manju w/ white bean paste with chestnut pieces filling
See below for the number to picture matching.
Taste Test!! – Love this part
- Momoyama – Tighly wrapped filling. Very smooth overall and prominent red bean flavor.
- Nyuka – I’m personally a fan of milk flavors so I really enjoyed the delicate milky sweetness of this one.
- Matcha manju – I could taste the matcha flavor, but also with it was a pugnent, ever-so-slightly spicy flavor.
- Soba manju – Since the filling was white bean, the faint taste of the soba wrapping was able to come through.
- Kuriman – This one had the fluffiest cake wrapping and had nice bits of chestnut running through the filling.
The Verdict…
Overall, I thought these sweets were lovely and my favorites were the Momoyama and Nyuka. They would go great with tea (particularly green, I think) or make a nice little treat, especially the small ones. If you’re craving a sweet that’s not too sweet or wanting to try Japanese snacks, definitely give these a go! You can get these on Amazon or at Costco (same brand, slight variation).